Nice Ride Thru NW Georgia

[burkbuilds]

Last Friday I decided to take a "sideroad" route home from Atlanta to Chattanooga. I googled some roads and took off with a short list of turns in my pocket. Well, not

exactly the best strategy, but I had a great time. Just north of Atlanta highway 41 runs through Emerson where I got off on 293 (Kingston Highway). I was looking for Ward

Mtn Road, but I had not "Googled" closely enough to see that it intersects with 293 as Morrison Camp Creek RD NE, so I missed that turn and just kept going for a while.

However, along the way I went through the Historic District of some small towns and it was like I stepped back in time to Mayberry. I also came across a field full of

Camels. I've never seen Camels up close before and I didn't realize how large they actually are. The largest ones in this field appear to have humps topping out around 8-9'

high. Well, I eventually just got back over on 41 and headed north into the Adairsville area where I cought 140 W for about 10 miles and then turned north on Old Dalton

Road. This was the best part of the ride. Old Dalton Road passes up through a lot of farm land, Black Angus Beef Cattle farms are all over the place and it is simply

beautiful country. Old barns and outbuildings all over the place, green pastures and those beautiful Black cows dotted the landscape. Eventually Old Dalton Road changes

names and becomes Everett Springs Road. The peaceful atmosphere continues and now a few "Mansions" of the modern day era are beginning to make their presence felt.

Some beautiful homes with professional landscaping, interspersed with farms and a few trailers along the way. After a few miles, the name changes to Pocket Road and

you enter part of the Chattahoocee National Forest particularly the "Johns Wildlife Preserve". This is simply gorgeous territory. The North Georgia Mountains begin to make

their presence felt and the ride is through woodlands with a picture perfect little stream running along the side of the road. The stream has a pretty good flow to it, lots of

little rapids and it probably averages about 15' wide. Fishermen were out along the roadside and there were spots where tent camping was allowed and several of them

were filled. Pocket road eventually climbs up the ridge line and ends at highway 136 near the top at Villanow. Side roads from 136 can lead you to even more scenic

beauty including several water falls, but I was ready to head on home today, so I stayed on 136 and headed West. If you like riding mountain twisties, this section of the

road will not disappoint you. Nice wide curves would allow even less experienced riders to feel comfortable and the curves seem to all be banked correctly, which is nice.

You will ride them up to the top of the ridge and then back down the other side on 136, which is nicely paved and even has a second truck lane going up from both

directions to keep traffic moving along around 45-55 mph. 136 hits 151 at the foot of the hills and I headed North towards Ringgold at that junction. I didn't want to go

into Ringgold where I would be forced back onto I-75 or 41 Hwy to get home, so I only went a little way and then turned off on 95 which connects 151 to Hwy. 27. 95 is

only about 5-7 miles long but it also goes through some pretty farm country with a little bit of residential development along the way. When I hit 27 I headed north into

Chickamauga, Georgia. If you are an American Civil War buff, Chickamauga is an essential visit for you. Downtown Chickamauga is full of old shops and stores and eateries

and the site of several major battles. I just kept heading north and turned off on old highway 27 when it went into the Historic Chickamauga Battlefield. Lots of

monuments and plaques to read about the war and even a great Civil War Museum to visit. My favorite spot in the Battlefield is Wilder's tower, built on the location where

Wilder and his men made a successful stand against Confederate soldiers. His men returned after the war and build this limestone tower that you can still climb the spiral

stairs to the top and look out for miles above the forest canopy. It is worth the climb just to take in the view. Wilder returned after the war and actually became the

Mayor of Chattanooga Tennessee. I was getting close to home though and I've seen all this dozens of time, so I stayed the course and cruised into the big city of Fort

Oglethorpe and headed to the house. All told I spent a little over 3 hours on this run and I reached the house feeling like I'd spent the afternoon in a spa relaxing. I think

this was the most enjoyable ride I have taken to date. :2tup: If you get a chance to ride Old Dalton Road up to 136 and down to 151 I think you will not be disappointed.

By the way, I turned 34,000 miles on the 500 during the ride, not to shabby for a bike I bought new less than 2 years ago.

Next pretty Friday, I plan to find Morrison Camp Creek Road and do the rest of this run. I'll let you know what I find.

[blaine]

Sounds like a real nice ride.You riding the 750 yet? :??: :cool:

[burkbuilds]

Not really. I wanted to make sure the spline lube proceedure was properly done before I started putting any miles on it and last weekend I finally pulled the rear tire and checked and sure enough, dry socket from the factory. So I put the 60% Moly lube from HONDA in the joint and reassembled it, but didn't quite get the shocks and stuff back on before I had to head back to school this week. Hopefully I'll start riding it more this next weekend now that I'm confident about the spline lube joint. However, I definitely need to upgrade that seat if I'm going to do anything more than short rides on the 750.

[alanmcorcoran]

Sounds like an excellent waste of time. Nice report.

[geezer]

wish i wouldve known it would have been epic for some gz to come put puting through! i live indahlonega i ride blood moutn all the damn time somebody hit me up!

[burkbuilds]

I found the rest of the route I was seeking this week and made some pictures. The path led from 293 to Morrison Campground Road, to Ward Mtn Road, then a few zig zags and 140 to Old Dalton Road, from there up it was as posted earlier. Beautiful country, some trees down from the storms, but I mostly just snapped shots of the beautiful fields and mountains that I was passing through.

[Water Warrior 2]

Thanks for sharing a breath of fresh air. All we have here is overcast skies and rain today.